First Day Of My Life
by ericaoutloud
Summary: Ellie goes over her & Craig's relationship and what they've been through. Crellie. 3 chapter songfic. Rated T. Story better than summary. I promise.
1. First Day Of My Life

_This is the first day of my life,  
>I swear I was born right in the doorway.<br>I went out in the rain suddenly everything changed,  
>They're spreading blankets on the beach<em>

Me and Craig... we were a love story. As much as we hated the cliche's and fairy tales, we were one. Our love... it has been through some challenges, and we have proved our love to each other countless times. Our love is real. Everything in our lives has been by fate, not chance.

The way we met should have been the sign that we would spend the rest our lives together, in love. It was a rainy day, senior year, and we were both, coincidentally, out for a walk, clearing our heads. I was listening to my iPod, and so was he. I was singing out loud to myself, but I also heard someone else singing the exact same song. I looked up to see him.

_Yours is the first face that I saw  
>I think I was blind before I met you<br>Now I don't know where I am  
>I don't know where I've been<br>But I know where I want to go_

At that same moment, he looked at me. We both clicked pause on our iPod's and walked up to each other. We both smiled and said hey, introducing ourselves. I then leaned over and grabbed his iPod from his hoodie's pocket. I held mine next to it, and this is where fate stepped in.

We were _both _listening to "First Day Of My Life" by Bright Eyes, at the same time, down to the second. If you don't find that some form of fate, I don't know what is. We then walked and talked for hours, like we hadn't just met. Like we were friends forever.

_And so I thought I'd let you know  
>That these things take forever<br>I especially am slow  
>But I realize that I need you<br>And I wondered if I could come home_

I had never felt that kind of connection or chemistry with anyone, ever. I had never felt so at ease and comfortable with a person. I'm guessing he felt the same way, because soon we started hanging out all the time. We shared past stories, present mistakes, future hopes. We shared our dreams, fears, feelings. We both helped each other through breakups, Craig with Manny, me with Sean. We were the best of friends in only a few months. That delighted and terrified me at the same time. Things changed the night of prom though.

_Remember the time you drove all night  
>Just to meet me in the morning<br>And I thought it was strange you said everything changed  
>You felt as if you'd just woke up<br>And you said "this is the first day of my life  
>I'm glad I didn't die before I met you<br>But now I don't care I could go anywhere with you  
>And I'd probably be happy"<em>

Craig had asked me about a month before to prom. I gladly agreed. Going to prom with my best friend was a great idea. I was in need of a fun night. i had been stressing over my college acceptance letters not showing, my grades, and my developing feelings for Craig, which I had no clue what to do. So the morning of prom, it finally came. My acceptance letter to U of T. Turns out Craig got his too, and that made s both ecstatic. We would be together another four years. We were on a high all night. Dancing, laughing, eating. The night was amazing. Near the end of the night, our group of friends decided to rent a cabin after prom. Everyone had yet to claim rooms. Craig grabbed my hand and pulled me out on the patio, while everyone laughed and got drunk inside.

I remember looking at him curiously. He looked so nervous. He looked so...shy. And then he changed both of our lives forever. He grabbed my hands, laced our fingers together, and looked me in the eyes. Then he said, "Ellie. I'm falling for you." And that's all it took for me to lean up and kiss his senseless. We stayed in the same bedroom that night. We didn't sleep together, like everyone thought. We both wanted to wait and take things slow to ensure our relationship wouldn't crumble. I had never gotten a better nights sleep than that night. Craig Manning was mine, and I was his.

_So if you want to be with me  
>With these things there's no telling<br>We just have to wait and see  
>But I'd rather be working for a paycheck<br>Than waiting to win the lottery  
>Besides maybe this time is different<br>I mean I really think you like me_

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R<strong>. The song is "First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes._  
><em>


	2. Bruised

_I've got my things, I'm good to go  
>You met me at the terminal<br>Just one more plane ride and it's done_

_We stood like statues at the gate_  
><em>Vacation's come and gone too late<em>  
><em>There's so much sun where I'm from<em>  
><em>I had to give it away, had to give you away<em>

Now college was great. We were happy and the cutest couple on the campus. We both lived in the dorms, but Craig in Parker Hall, and me in Adams Hall. Everyone in my dorm knew who Craig was and loved him. Same for me in Craig's dorms. Then one day when we were hanging out on my bed, just staring at each other, his stare got a little more intense than normal. So did mine. we leaned in to kiss and it was slow and full of passion. When we parted, I took a deep breath, eyes still closed and quietly said "I love you." I knew he heard me, because the only sounds in the room were from outside my window, where the rain was pouring. I opened my eyes and looked at him. He smiled at me lovingly, telling me he loved me too. And that was the night me and Craig had sex for the first time. We had both already lost our virginity from our former relationships (Manny & Sean). We were in love, and I couldn't have been happier.

_And we spent four days on an  
>Island at your family's old hotel<br>Sometimes perfection can be  
>It can be perfect hell, perfect...<em>

_Hours pass, and she still counts the minutes_  
><em>That I am not there, I swear I didn't mean<em>  
><em>For it to feel like this<em>  
><em>Like every inch of me is bruised, bruised<em>  
><em>And don't fly fast. Oh, pilot can you help me?<em>  
><em>Can you make this last? This plane is all I got<em>  
><em>So keep it steady, now<em>  
><em>Cause every inch you see is bruised<em>

The trouble came our sophomore year in college. Me and Craig were still together. We had our arguments, but we always got over them very quickly, mainly because we liked kissing more than yelling. Then I started to get sick. It felt like everything made me nauseous and I threw up in the mornings more. I didn't want to come to the conclusion I was making, but I had to make sure. I told Craig and he sat in the bathroom with me for the longest 60 seconds of my life. As soon as the buzzer went off, I lifted the pregnancy test to reveal what i already knew. I was pregnant. I cried for a good hour, Craig holding me the whole time. We then spent the whole night in Craig's dorm, just laying on his bed, letting the moonlight light the room. Craig's roommate was gone for Christmas break. We both decided to stay on campus.

After hours of lying together, we finally talked. And we decided to keep the baby. And move in together when the new school term starts. And we both were scared, and somewhat excited. We were starting a little family together. We had talked about the future, like a family and our plans, an although it was happening way earlier than we expected, we both did want a family, especially together.

_I lace my Chucks, I walk the aisle_  
><em>I take my pills, the babies cry<em>  
><em>All I hear is what's playing through<em>  
><em>The in-flight radio<em>  
><em>Now every word of every song<em>  
><em>I ever heard that made me wanna stay<em>  
><em>Is what's playing through<em>  
><em>The in-flight radio, and I<em>  
><em>And I am, finally waking up<em>

_Hours pass, and she still counts the minutes_  
><em>That I am not there, I swear I didn't mean<em>  
><em>For it to feel like this<em>  
><em>Like every inch of me is bruised, bruised<em>  
><em>Don't fly fast. Oh, pilot can you help me?<em>  
><em>Can you make this last? This plane is all I got<em>  
><em>So keep it steady, now<em>  
><em>Cause every inch you see is bruised, yeah<em>

So time passed. We were still as happy as can be. We didn't tell anyone about the pregnancy, yet. We spent Christmas together. New Years as well. Me and Craig were in our own world. I was a little chubby. I hated it, and Craig thought it was the cutest thing. Then around three months, more trouble came. It was a normal Sunday night. I was in my dorm, watching TV, eating ramen noodles. I had just said bye to my roommate for the night, for she was spending the night at her boyfriends place. After awhile, my stomach started to cramp. The cramps continued to get worse. I was in so much pain. I slowly stood up and felt something drip down my leg. I looked down to see blood. I ran to the bathroom.

I had miscarried. As soon as I realized what was going on, I called Craig frantically. He rushed over. When he got there, it was quiet, and I had locked myself in the bathroom. I was laying on the floor, shaking. After begging me for 5 minutes, I finally let him in the bathroom. He sat on the floor with me, and I sunk into his arms, finally crying my eyes out. My child, our child, hadn't made it. I was extremely depressed for awhile, but Craig was there for me the whole time. He took care of me, my school work, and his school work, all together. He didn't give himself time to grieve, because he was worried about me. I'm so thankful for him. After awhile, I was better. It still hurt to think about or mention it, but as long as I had Craig I would be okay.

_So read your books, but stay out late_  
><em>Some nights, some nights, and don't think<em>  
><em>That you can't stop by the bar<em>  
><em>You haven't shown your face here since the bad news<em>  
><em>Well I'm here till close, with fingers crossed<em>  
><em>Each night cause your place isn't far<em>

_And hours pass, and hours pass, yeah, yeah..._

_Yeah, yeah, she still counts the minutes_  
><em>That I am not there, I swear I didn't mean<em>  
><em>For it to feel like this<em>  
><em>Like every inch of me is bruised, bruised<em>  
><em>And don't fly fast. Oh, pilot can you help me?<em>  
><em>Can you make this last? This plane is all I got<em>  
><em>So keep it steady, now<em>  
><em>Cause every inch you see is bruised, bruised, bruised<em>

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R<strong>. The song is "Bruised" by Jack's Mannequin._  
><em>


	3. Dare You To Move

_Welcome to the planet  
>Welcome to existence<br>Everyone's here  
>Everyone's here<br>Everybody's watching you now  
>Everybody waits for you now<br>What happens next?  
>What happens next?<em>

After the miscarriage, things got a little rocky. I was super emotional. Craig was keeping his feelings bottled up. And we were both still hurting from the loss of our child. So we argued more. Picked more fights. We would go days without talking, and I would usually lay around crying those days. My roommate would try and be there for me, but she had no idea what was going on.

For awhile during those rocky months, I thought me and Craig weren't going to make it, which was the icing on top of my emotional wreck. That hurt me to even think like that, but it felt like that at moments. After a particularly bad fight about our relationship, Craig stormed out of my room. I dropped to the floor crying. I was going to lose him. I was going to lose the greatest thing to ever happen to me. I was going to lose my best friend and my love. I didn't want that. I wouldn't let that happen. I threw on Craig's U of T hoodie, and raced across the campus, in the rain, to his dorm. I pounded on the door. Craig opened it looking tired, upset, and surprised. I was standing in front of him, soaking wet, with tears rolling down my face. I looked at him.

_I dare you to move_  
><em>I dare you to move<em>  
><em>I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor<em>  
><em>I dare you to move<em>  
><em>I dare you to move<em>  
><em>Like today never happened<em>  
><em>Today never happened before<em>

_Welcome to the fallout_  
><em>Welcome to resistance<em>  
><em>The tension is here<em>  
><em>The tension is here<em>  
><em>Between who you are and who you could be<em>  
><em>Between how it is and how it should be<em>

"I'm so sorry Craig." And then I threw myself at him and he held me close, repeating i'm sorry into my shoulder. We backed into his room and locked the door. We made love that day. And it was the greatest make up of my life. That day we both realized another form of fate. It always rained on important days for us. The rain was like our security.

After that, we made a pact. We would celebrate together, every year, the day our child would have been born. And we talk about what it would have been like. And we laugh and we cry. And we let ourselves feel.

_I dare you to move_  
><em>I dare you to move<em>  
><em>I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor<em>  
><em>I dare you to move<em>  
><em>I dare you to move<em>  
><em>Like today never happened<em>  
><em>Today never happened<em>

_Maybe redemption has stories to tell_  
><em>Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell<em>  
><em>Where can you run to escape from yourself?<em>  
><em>Where you gonna go?<em>  
><em>Where you gonna go?<em>  
><em>Salvation is here<em>

So here we are. Graduation day. We're still together, happier than ever, even though we over came so much. These last 5 years have been the craziest and most unforgettable times of my life. And as I walk across this stage with Craig next to me, I know my life is going to great. As the dean yells "Congratulations Class of 2011!" I throw my hat up and kiss Craig. We did it.

As all the families are taking pictures, Craig pulls me behind the bleachers and gives me a kiss. He smiles so big at me, I can't help but smile back. he then reaches in his pocket and drops to one knee. I immediately gasp. He didn't give a speech or confess his love. He simply looked at me, holding my left hand, and said "Will you marry me?" I cry a little, happily accepting his proposal. He swung me around and we shared a kiss. I was in heaven.

Later on that night, we all went out for drinks to celebrate. I was showing off my ring to the girls and Marco, while the guys clapped Craig on the back and shouting out congrats. They even put a little black hat on Craig, and a mini veil on me. Just then, a slow song came on, stopping me and Craig in our tracks. It was our song. We never officially declared it our song, but we both just knew no other song would work. We went to the make shift dance floor and started to slowly rock together. Bright Eyes made our hearts come together, and they were melting together right now. And there was no other place i'd rather be.

_I dare you to move  
>I dare you to move<br>I dare you to lift yourself, to lift yourself up off the floor  
>I dare you to move<br>I dare you to move  
>Like today never happened<br>Today never happened  
>Today never happened<br>Today never happened before_

Me and Craig... we were a love story. And my heart never loved a story more than ever...

* * *

><p>R&amp;R. The song is "Dare You To Move" by Switchfoot. I hope you all liked this! :)<p> 


End file.
